Stratemeyer Shorts
by Aurora Mandeville
Summary: A collection of short stories starring various characters from the Stratemeyer Syndicate series, plus a few others who are similar. Mostly detectives, and mostly little incidents that would happen outside of the novellas. There are a couple of excerpts, but that's only because I had to write down something for that idea because it would be quiet, lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
1. Excerpt from a Future Project

Sue Langen and Joyce Tyler followed the DeVere sisters at a safe distance. Rachel, the eldest, would jump at the slightest sound and glanced quickly around before relaxing her tight grip on her sister's hand. Anna gave no sign that it bothered her, she was angry. Why would anyone steal an heirloom necklace? Sue figured it was only worth something to the DeVeres as it was their mother's. It was certainly no Hope Diamond nor the Moonstone. Sue glanced at the park they were approaching, seeking any small clue that the Bailey brothers and their friends Biff and Tom were there. Sue pursed her lips. She would have rathered some police there, but they had deduced there was an informant in their ranks and that meant they could only trust each other.

Sue and Joyce found a bush to hide behind while the DeVeres sat on a park bench. They waited for what seemed like hours before a dark sedan pulled up. Three men got out and approached the DeVeres.

"Where's the necklace?" asked Anna.

"We still need it," said one of the men.

"What?" shouted Anna. "It belonged to my mother! Give it back!"

"No."

Rachel grabbed her arm and took a step back. "Then why did you call us here?"

"Because apparently we need you too." One of the men reached into his jacket.

Sue jumped up. "Run!" Rachel and Anna turned to run, but two of the men grabbed them and jabbed needles into their necks. They dragged their slumped bodies towards the car. "No! Let them go!" Sue and Joyce ran towards them, while the boys came from another direction. One man shot at the boys before turning and shooting at Sue and Joyce.

"Sue!" shouted Joyce, knocking her friend to the side. She groaned as the men quickly got into the car and drove away. The boys continued chasing it, but Kevin Bailey came towards them.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but, Joyce!" A needle was sticking out of her side.

"I'll bring the car around." He dashed off.

"Hang on Joyce." Sue sniffled, but she glared ahead. Hang on, we're coming.

*Sue Langen and Joyce Taylor are the German names for Nancy Drew and George Fayne (I think, it wasn't specified which country used the name Joyce for George), the Bailey Brothers are from the Brixton Brothers series, the DeVeres from the Moving Picture Girls series, and the other two are Biff Brewster and Tom Quest

(This excerpt I wrote for a Nancy Drew contest on Wattpad . . . the winner wrote a fanfic of the series. Speaking of, here's this week's review. This episode was definitely a whole lot better than last week's, still not as good as the third one though. I want that writing back soo bad. But now I think I know my biggest problem with this series, Lucy is practically leading Nancy to all of the clues, Nancy herself isn't going out of her way to find that many like she used to. If that's just for this mystery, OK, fine, Lucy has to lead Nancy in order to find everything she's going to need to catch a villain who, it seems, is capable of covering their tracks fairly well. But I don't want Nancy to turn into some "ghost whisperer", there are other shows for that and if they really wanted to, they could create a new series, or heck, even a Supernatural spin-off for that. Anyway, it looks like this mystery is going to have its ups and downs, it's just a matter of time before we find out if there are more ups or downs, but at the rate this is going, I'm foreseeing more downs. Anyway, hope you like this short excerpt and now I'll have to figure out what I'm going to post next week, lol.)


	2. Science Convention

"Tom! Tom Swift!" Tom glanced around, looking for the person calling him or his father, or both. His father chuckled and patted his back.

"Looks like she was calling for you," he said with a knowing grin. Tom turned and looked at where his father was pointing, right as a dark-haired young woman rushed forward and hugged him. Tom just about choked when he realized who she was.

"Cherry Ames!" She giggled when he said her name. Tom couldn't help but notice how merry those brown eyes looked today, how pretty her smile was. He also wondered why it was getting rather warm all of a sudden.

His father cleared his throat, bringing Tom crashing back to Earth. "Oh, right! Dad, this is Cherry Ames, that nurse I was telling you about. Cherry, this is my dad, Tom Swift."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! You're Tom Swift too?"

Tom Sr. chuckled as he shook hands with Cherry. "That's right, Miss Ames. So next time, call for Tom Junior, he'll know exactly it's him you're calling for."

Cherry smiled. "I'll remember that."

"But you answer to Thomas too!" blurted Tom.

Thomas grinned. "Only to those who know, and when your mother's mad at me." He winked. Cherry laughed.

"But what are you doing here?" asked Tom. "This is a scientist convention!"

"Well of course! Doctors and nurses work with science too, you know."

"I know that, I just thought you had to be a senior nurse or something to get in. You weren't even a junior when I last saw you!"

"It's amazing what she can do once she puts her mind to it," came a male voice. A young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and dressed in a pilot's uniform joined the three and placed a hand on Cherry's shoulder. "Cherry is just full of surprises."

Cherry scoffed. "Not to you, you know me way too well."

"Ah, yes, I'm afraid it's my lot in life."

Tom had a sudden sinking feeling. This guy was her boyfriend, wasn't he. Tom should have known better, a beauty like Cherry wouldn't have stayed single for long.

Thomas held out his hand. "And you must be here for the aviation and engineering departments."

The man shook his hand. "Yes sir. I've been coming to these for a couple of years now, in fact. Glad to be able to share this with at least one of my family."

Tom's mouth dropped. "Wait, what? Family?"

Cherry laughed. "Right? No one believes us at first, but it's true. Tom, Mr. Swift, this is my twin brother Charlie. Charlie, this is Thomas Swift and Tom Swift Jr."

"Ah yes, the young scientist who helped you on that mystery," said Charlie as he shook hands with them.

Tom felt like he was in a daze, a daze of relief, and surprise. "Uh, yeah, well, my friends Frank and Joe Hardy are actually the detectives, I'm just a scientist."

"Well, we do have a cousin who works with scientists. You might have met him, Steve Ames?"

"Oh yes, we have!" said Thomas. "He's worked primarily with my top rival, actually, Hartson Brant. Speaking of, I was looking for him when you called for Tom, Cherry. Would you two like to join us and see if your cousin's with him?"

"Oh, I would be thrilled to! We haven't seen Steve much since the last family reunion, three years ago!"

"And I didn't even know he was coming to these things, I didn't even think about it. But then again, I did just stick to aviation the last two years."

Thomas nodded as he led the way through the crowd. "Your first time can be pretty daunting."

"But Steve knew you were becoming a pilot. Why didn't he seek you out?"

"I can answer that, my fair cousin."

"Steve!" Cherry let out a squeal and hugged a man who looked to be in his late forties with sandy blond hair, some grey at the temples, and green eyes. He was dressed in an Army officer's uniform and looked to be as fit as someone Tom expected to be in the military.

He set her down. "It's so good to see you Cherry! You too, Charlie. I was hoping to run into you today!"

"So, why didn't I see you these last two years?" asked Charlie.

Steve chuckled. "Because I wasn't here. Mr. Brant saw your name on one of the engineering lists and asked me about it. I knew I had to come this year to see if it was you, and to my surprise, I got the both of you!"

"So, they are twins?" asked Tom.

Steve laughed. "I know, they don't look it, but they definitely are." He winked at Tom. "Had you worried there for a second, huh?"

"W-what? No! Just took me by surprise, that's all," blurted Tom.

"Oh yeah," said his father before sharing a sly glance with Steve.

"Hey!"

"There you are Steve!" came another voice. The group was soon joined by who Tom immediately recognized as being Hartson Brant, his son Rick, and Rick's friend Don Scott, nicknamed Scotty, thanks in part to the boys shared fondness of the original Star Trek series. Steve introduced them to his cousins, and the Brants were also surprised that Charlie was Cherry's twin and not her boyfriend. Tom could tell that Don was checking Cherry out, but was surprised that Rick wasn't. In fact, he seemed distracted, constantly looking around and checking his phone.

"What's up with you?" Tom asked him.

Rick glanced at him, startled, as a small blush came into his cheeks. "Oh, uh . . ."

"He's hoping to see his girlfriend," teased Don.

Rick's face turned bright red. "Am not!"

Hartson glanced behind them. "Oh, there she is! Hi Vicki!"

A petite woman with ash blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and dressed in a flight attendant uniform joined them. A figure, Tom thought, that looked to be as much a goddess of the sky as lovely Cherry was the goddess of the earth. "Hi Mr. Brant! Hi Scotty! Hi Rick!"

"H-hi Vicki!" said Rick.

"How did you get in?" asked Charlie. "I thought only pilots were allowed in."

Vicki grinned. "Well, I got special treatment, I guess."

"Vicki's helped us solve a mystery or two," explained Hartson. "I figured she deserved it."

"Oh," said Tom and Charlie before both shot a knowing look at Rick's flustered face.

"Y-you weren't sure if you were going to make it," said Rick.

"And I wasn't until this morning. Apparently I've been assigned to this plane piloted by Charlie Ames. I only remembered the name because of Steve."

Steve chuckled. "Well, you're in luck. Because my nephew and my niece are here!" Introductions went around again, and the group decided to spend their free time together while the convention went on. They had to separate at that moment and go to their respective sciences, but promised to meet up at the entrance of the expo center and head out to dinner.

As planned, everyone met at the front of the expo at five o'clock and walked from there to look at the nearby restaurants. The younger six were in the lead and chatted away about what they learned from the various talks they attended, while the older three hung back and chatted about other things. A quaint, local diner all decked out in science-themed decorations caught their attention and they decided to check it out. It was moderately busy, but they still had to split up in order to sit. The six young adults found a table, while the older men found another table. They took a look at the menus on the table and gave their orders to a waitress. The waitress brought them some water while they waited for their food.

"So, how did you guys meet?" asked Cherry.

Vicki and Rick glanced at each other lovingly. "Well," said Vicki, "we met on the way to Hawaii."

"No way!" said Cherry.

"Really?" said Tom. He glanced at Rick. "Why were you going to Hawaii?"

"What, you mean we can't take vacations or something?" quipped Don. The others laughed.

Rick nodded at Steve Ames. "Actually, Steve needed a couple of guys to check out this science lab in Hawaii, so he asked Dad if he could send me and Don over there to check it out. Dad said yes since Don was going, so we went."

"Vicki was one of the stewardesses on our flight," said Don, "and Rick was flirting nonstop with her. She wasn't having any of it though."

Vicki shrugged. "Hey, we get a lot of people flirting with us."

"Is it any wonder why?" asked Charlie before he winked and took a sip of his water. The guys grinned.

Vicki rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the crew had a few days vacation before our next flight, so we were going to make the most of it."

"But . . ." began Rick with a knowing grin.

Vicki chuckled. "But, I got a mystery wrapped around my neck."

"Wait, what?" blurted Tom, Cherry, and Charlie.

Don, Rick, and Vicki grinned at them before going into detail about the two mysteries they had to solve, how they ended up helping other, and eventually finding out that it was all connected.

By the time they finished telling their tale, their food had been served and they had at least begun eating. Tom, Cherry, and Charlie looked at them, open-mouthed.

"Wow!" blurted Cherry. "That sounds so romantic!"

Charlie snorted. "Yeah, sure, nearly falling into a pit of lava sounds like such an ideal first date."

Cherry shot him a look. "You know what I mean. Fate brings them together in Hawaii!"

Rick grinned. "I know, right?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Oh brother."

"Oh come on," said Rick. "This is Hawaii! Where did fate get you two to meet at?"

Tom and Cherry glanced at each other before grinning at the others and taking turns telling how they met, how the Hardys called in Tom for help, how Cherry found a vital clue, and how they all had to work together to solve the mystery.

Charlie nodded at the end of the tale. "Colorado's a good place to meet too."

Cherry grinned. "We did go sightseeing for a little bit with Nancy, Frank, and Joe. It was breathtaking." She let out a romantic sigh.

"Oh," said Charlie before slowly turning his head to look at Tom. Tom began to slump under his scrutinizing glare.

"Charlie!" Cherry whacked his shoulder. "Leave him alone!

"But it's my duty as your older brother . . ."

"Oh hogwash, I'm the older one."

Charlie scoffed. "By what, ten minutes?"

"It's good enough for me, it should be good enough for you too," said Cherry, placing her hands on her hips.

Steve tutted as he walked to their table, followed by Thomas and Hartson. "Can't leave you two for too long before you start taking shots at each other and get these guys caught in the crossfire."

Rick, Tom, and Vicki quickly explained that they each had a sibling, so this was nothing new.

Hartson chuckled. "He knows, he's just teasing. But it is time to break this up and head out, we need to get up early." The young adults groaned and moaned, but he was right. They paid for their meal, leaving a nice-sized tip for the waitress, and walked together to their hotel.

They continued to talk about their adventures as they walked. Rick would interrupt his narration from time to time to ask Tom about what the Hardys might do and beg him for their numbers. By the time they got to the hotel, Tom finally promised to ask the Hardys that night if he could give their numbers to Rick and Don. They finally separated after a long goodbye and went to their rooms. Tome texted both Hardy boys with the request, telling them a bit about Rick and Don, before going to sleep. He couldn't wait for the next day, where he could learn more about science and visit with friends.

(Characters from the _Tom Swift Jr_ series, _Cherry Ames_ series, _Rick Brant Adventure Stories_, and _Vicki Barr Flight Attendant_ series)

(rofl . . . completely forgot I had this one already. Had already begun the Stratemeyer Shorts on Wattpad and AO3 and forgot to do them here, so this is first first chapter on the other two sites. Oh well, at least you get to read it now, lol. Hope you like it! I had to reread it to get this week's episode of Nancy Drew out of my mind. Though, I will remember it as the episode I laughed at because a "dark spirit" was obviously a guy in a black suit. Well, it looked like it could have been CGI, but I still saw it as a guy in a black suit and it made me think of mimes and that guy dancing with the pumpkin on his head meme . . . and I laughed. Also, the hands? That's scary? Wow, just, wow. They're not afraid of showing some things but don't want to show anything that's actually scarier than a Japanese vengeance "ghost". *rolls eyes* The spirit stuff this whole episode was lame and just taking more away from Nancy finding actual clues and solving the mystery on her own, like one would normally do. They're relying a little too much on the supernatural to lead the mystery solving instead of letting the dangers of nearly getting caught by the culprit/suspect be the suspense. Oh, and spoilers, I guess, but Nick broke up with Nancy. Ned in the books fought for her a little harder than that, heck, Frank Hardy fights for her a little harder than that and they don't see each other that often, lol. I mean, the drama and the so-called tension was really taking the forefront, it seems, and the mystery was pushed to the background. Sure, it was still there, but it was mainly Lucy's mystery this episode, and they barely talk about Tiffany Hudson. Oh, and we finally learn more about the Lucy mystery. So it was a known fact that she was murdered, we've been led to believe she just fell off a cliff or something. No, she was stabbed to death and then pushed off the cliff. It would have been nice to have that information in the beginning, like, I don't know, when Nancy found the dress. If certain facts are part of a legend, tell that part when you tell the legend, please. Makes the legend sound more legit. Anyway, obviously this is not a very good episode and this is becoming one of those books where I find myself feeling like it's a chore to finish it. There are some parts to it that I would like the conclusion to, mainly who killed Tiffany Hudson, but all in all, it's not looking too good for the series. Hulu, please tell me you're doing a better job with the Hardys and that you're next in line for a Nancy Drew series. My New year's resolution might just end up being to own both of the movies and rewatching them both. I've seen a few complaints about the recent movie being too "childish" . . . I guess that person never really read the books. The people behind the movie certainly seem like they've actually read the books and are really modernizing Nancy in comparison to this series. Easter eggs are nice and all, but if you're going to make Carson Drew a suspect and someone who's willing to work for shady customers, you obviously don't know the first thing about Carson Drew. Yeah, there was that in this episode too. Guess we'll find out next episode that Carson never was a suspect and just did something else for the Hudsons. Ugh. OK, I think I'm done ranting. I have a Jackunzel story to finish, and I'm probably going to be rewatching The Moon-Spinners and Rise of the Guardians for the next couple of days. So at least that's something to look forward to. Certainly not next week's episode. Anyway, this short story is cheesy and not as good as I would like, but I hate it when I like my own work better than something that was professionally done. OK, I'm done ranting, time for more writing. Bye!)


	3. Beginning of a New Team

Three teens on the cusp of womanhood and a matronly woman of about forty stood in front of the Biltmore hotel. The woman, Miss Dorcas Pepper, glanced at a slip of paper in her hand before turning her wrist to look at her expensive watch.

"Looks like we got here with a few minutes to spare, good." She glanced at her young companions, the Blythe sisters. She let out a soft huff as she surveyed the girls' dresses yet again. They were nice, to be sure, but they weren't quite fancy enough by Miss Pepper's standards for a visit to such a classy hotel as the Biltmore. Helen, the eldest, was wearing a pale blue dress with white lace accents with her dark ash blonde curls pulled up in a fancy bun. Margy, the middle sister, was wearing a golden yellow dress with a string of white beads around the waist and a matching clip pulled her sandy blonde hair away from her face. Rose, the youngest, was wearing a pink dress with a silver bow and she had let her light strawberry blonde curls cascade around her shoulders. "Let's see what this Malcolm Edwards has to say."

Rose clasped her hands with a fervent excitement. "Oh, I do hope he invites us with him on an adventure!"

"Rose!" berated Margy, her blue green eyes flashing. "Don't jump to conclusions! Mr. Edwards might have something else he wants to talk to us about."

"And it's certainly not to ask you to marry Ralph," said Helen with a merry twinkle in her violet eyes before taking the first step towards the fancy hotel. Dorcas tutted and followed her in. Margy took a step forward, before glancing at Rose. She was fiddling with her gloves, her face was beet red, which made Margy laugh.

"Nellie's right, though, Mr. Edwards is more likely to ask us to join them on an adventure than that. Let's find out what it is." She paused and glanced down the street. "I do hope those guys don't keep us waiting."

Rose giggled as she nudged her sister's shoulder. "I highly doubt Jimmy would want to keep you waiting." It was Margy's turn to turn beet red, but by the time the two had joined their eldest sister and Dorcas in the foyer, it was mostly gone. But Rose's giggles lingered on until they entered the hotel's lobby, when the blush came back. Ralph Edwards was sitting on one of the sofas by the roaring fire. Jimmy Stone and Bret Hartson were sitting in adjacent chairs, listening with rapture at whatever Ralph was telling them. Bret saw them first and rose from his chair, giving them each a nod, though his eyes lingered on Helen. The other two quickly rose as well when they saw the women.

"Oh good, you're here!" said Ralph. "We're just waiting for one more member of our party, and then we head on up."

Dorcas took a seat. "Oh, and who are we waiting for?"

"I do believe that would be me, ma'am." The girls jumped slightly as a sailor-looking fellow stepped into their midst.

"Ah, yes, you made it Mr. Green!" said Ralph enthusiastically as he grasped the man's hand and shook it. Ralph introduced everyone to Stanley Green. "Well, now that that's done, let's head up. I do hate making Dad wait too long. But at least introductions are out of the way and we can get down to business." His tone changed from its usual cheerfulness and became rather solemn, and a bit mysterious. He took a furtive glance around the lobby before offering his arm to Rose. She accepted it shyly. Jimmy offered his arm to Margy, and Bret to Helen. Stanley offered his arm hesitantly to Dorcas, but she refused, and he took up the rear as Ralph led the group towards the elevator. The girls oohed and aahed as they walked through the grand hallway, while Jimmy and Bret seemed to soak it all in almost like they thought they were in a dream. As soon as everyone was in, Ralph nodded at the elevator operator.

"My floor, please, Mr. O'Toole."

Mr. O'Toole nodded. "Yes sir." He closed the gates and took the group up to Ralph's floor. Ralph led them quickly to a room near the far end of one of the halls. He rapped on the door.

"We're all here, governor." The group eyed him in surprise but he paid no mind as the sound of clicking could be heard from the other side of the door. Malcolm Edwards opened the door and surveyed the group before ushering them in.

"Was there anyone following you?" asked Malcolm as he and Ralph set about locking the door.

"Just us, as far as I could tell," said Ralph.

Malcolm nodded. "Good." He turned to the others. "Please, have a seat." They sat down in the two sofas and one of the chairs that was situated in front of the fireplace. "Thank you. What I'm about to tell you must be kept secret from everyone. Are we clear?" They nodded and murmured 'yes'. "Good." He glanced at Ralph, then at the door. Ralph went to check on the door again and came back, nodding at his father. "Alright, basically, Ralph and I are treasure hunters." Dorcas let out a gasp as she clutched her purse closer to her chest. "Miss Pepper, I said we are treasure hunters, not thieves. Please be reasonable."

"I am," said Doracs, clutching her purse even tighter. Ralph rolled his eyes and glanced at his father.

Malcolm sighed. "I see. I asked you all here today to give you a business proposition." Rose leaned forward, grinning widely. Jimmy and Bret were also excited, while Helen and Margy shared a look of concern. "I'm asking all of you to join me and Ralph in becoming a great team of treasure hunters."

Dorcas gasped. "Heavens, no!"

"Yes!" said Rose, Jimmy, and Bret in unison.

"Rose!" berated Margy. "We need to think about this! This is very serious!"

"Your sister's right," said Ralph, "you have to make your decision seriously and carefully. Treasure hunting is a very dangerous business." He glanced down and mumbled, "People have lost their lives." The girls looked between him and Malcolm, wide eyed.

"Is that, is that how you lost your mom?" whispered Rose. Ralph glanced at her as a sad look came into his grey eyes and nodded slowly. Rose quickly stood up and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry."

The corners of Ralph's mouth curled ever so slightly. "Thanks."

Malcolm cleared his throat. "We will do our best to avoid death, but danger is inevitable. Even now, with you being here, is rather dangerous. There are men following me and Ralph throughout the city, who knows if they'll keep an eye on you from now on as well, at least until they've come to realize that you're not working with me."

Stanley rose slowly from his seat, his eyes riveted on Malcolm. "You're looking for the valley, aren't you?" Everyone looked at him, curious as to what he meant by that, but ralph looked at his father. "That stupid fable, the Valley of Diamonds. That's the reason why you wanted me here. You couldn't find Jack, so I would have to do."

"Where's the Valley of Diamonds?" asked Jimmy.

"What's the Valley of Diamonds?" asked Margy.

"Why the Valley of Diamonds?" asked Dorcas. "Isn't it just a fable, a fairy tale? Why not go to Australia, they're abundant with opals, so I've heard."

Malcolm glanced at her. "Even fairy tales have a grain of truth to them. And Australia is next."

Dorcas scoffed. "Well, finding that grain is like finding a needle in the haystack."

"Well I think we've found that grain." He turned to the mantle and took a piece of paper off it. "This here is a map to the valley . . . somewhere in Botswana, Africa."

Stanley gasped and took a few steps forward. "Where did you get that? There was only one man I know who had that, and he's dead!"

"He gave this to us and told us that, should he die before the year's end, to search for it. He did tell me that you and your friend Jack were the only two people he could trust and should have a share of it."

"That was during the time when Jack and I were in Africa a few months ago, huh?"

Malcolm nodded. "Yes, and now Mr. Ferris is dead and Jack is missing." He waved the map. "I can assure you it has to do with this."

"Then why did you need to bring these young folk into this?"

Malcolm pointed at Jimmy and Bret. "I needed extra help." The two grinned. He then turned to Dorcas. "And we've found out that your nephew, Rex, is involved with the gang of men following us. Tom Ferris recognized him."

Dorcas heaved a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

Margy groaned. "Go figure."

"You have dealt with him before and know his ways. You would be a great help in giving me information about him, and, if you decide to join us, to keep an eye out for him and his goons. You will receive a share of the diamonds either way."

"Africa is no place for a proper lady," said Dorcas rather haughtily.

"But it does sound like an awful lot of fun," said Rose with a wistful sigh.

"Oh, it is, but if you can't come, I'll try to bottle some of it up and bring it back to you," said Ralph, the merry twinkle returning to his eyes.

Rose blushed ever so slightly. "I, I would like that."

Malcolm turned to the others. "So, what do you say? Are you in?"

"Absolutely," said Jimmy enthusiastically.

"All the way," said Bret.

"I'm coming whether you like it or not," said Stanley," and since you like it, I guess we're good."

Malcolm grinned broadly at that. "I guess so." He turned to the women. "Miss Pepper, Miss Blythe?"

Margy and Rose glanced at Helen. Rose seemed to plead with her eyes while Margy seemed unsure. Helen glanced between the two before looking at Malcolm. "Um, would I be able to bring some art supplies and, well, paint a picture or two?"

Malcolm's smile began to reach into his eyes. "I see no problem with that."

"Then I suppose a change of scenery will do us some good."

"Yes!" cried out Rose and nearly pushed Helen off the sofa with a hug. Margy didn't seem as thrilled, but she was resolved to help however she could.

"Oh hogwash," said Dorcas as she rose from her seat. "I'd better go too, if just to keep an eye on you." She glanced at the girls, and then a glaring eye at the boys. Ralph merely grinned at her.

"Alright then, it's settled. Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow, we head to Africa."

(Characters from The Adventures Boys and the Blythe Girls . . . with that being said, this week's episode of Nancy Drew . . . Nancy's strong point has always been the detective work, the clue-finding and suspect-busting. The spirit stuff really takes away from it. Especially when the spirit stuff is pretty laughable. Really? Dark beings with red eyes? Now where have I seen that before? Hmm . . . I don't know, like maybe every other spirit-related show, heck, even Doctor Who's rendition of Satan involved red eyes. Nothing new, seriously. Though McGinnis's Native American rituals come into play. At least this show is a little less racist than Batwoman concerning Native Americans. Of course, the show this week seems to have been overshadowed by the release of the new game, so I don't think there was that much interest. And with probably a lot of fans feeling cheated by both game and show, well the game I think is better than the show, but I think things are going down for both. I really would like it if HeR Interactive continued with the games, but I would understand if they didn't. It seems neither they or the showrunners really care about the fans who know the source material. I really don't like that they're trying to turn Nancy into Archie and are trying to turn Archie into something else, but, it's the CW, what can you expect. Gotta have laughable "spiritual realms" and boring drama. Ugh. Anyway, this episode was a halfer, half of it was good, the other half one big nope. But at least it wasn't completely bad, I think they're finally getting consistent. I just want the ghost stuff to be over with, I want my detective Nancy back.)


	4. A Secret Meeting

Robert "Red" Randall sat down at a table close to the front of the cafe and took a quick sip of his cappuccino. It was still rather hot, so he let it sit a bit while he watched the door. He could tell out of the corner of his eye that a few people were glancing at him. That barista must have been telling everyone who came to pick up their orders that his red hair was natural, not dyed. Red was used to it by now. Besides, he was here for an important meeting for his employer, Mr. Hughes, he wasn't going to let a few curious stares distract him.

He did come with his best friend and co-worker, Aadav "Sunny" Swarna, who was now in line for his chai. The two hadn't wanted to take a chance on missing their contacts when they came in. Sunny had insisted that Red go first, it would have been hard to miss a red-headed Asian. Red took a sip of his cappuccino, a smirk beginning to form. If they didn't see him when they came in, the curious stares would totally point him out. He took another sip, looking odd had its ups.

The door chime jingled as more customers came in. Red tried to look at them inconspicuously. It was a couple of young men, fresh out of high school he assumed. The chime jingled again and three young women walked in. Red subconsciously shook his head, these weren't the group he was meeting. He was looking for a group of three young women, one with violet eyes, the other two identical twins. But he was slightly glad of one thing, the five had paused to chat close to the doorway which would slow incoming patrons, he could watch people coming in without looking too creepy. Well, at least he hoped. He took another glance at the fivesome, there was something familiar about those three women, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He shot a quick glance at the line, hoping Sunny was on his way back. He glanced at his watch, it was now five minutes past nine, they were going to be here any minute. The chime jingled, and Red's head snapped up. He blinked, was that them? Two were obviously identical twins, but the third had her back to him. Please turn, he mentally asked, please turn. One of the twins touched her shoulder and pointed towards him. She turned, that was her, here was the group. He rose as the three walked towards him.

"Robert Randall, better known as Red for . . ." she paused, looking at his hair, ". . . for his natural red hair?" The violet-eyed woman spoke with a soft English accent, indicating the years spent at a school in England.

Red grinned. "That's me. Are you Miss Violet Strange, daughter of socialite Helena Strange and entrepreneur Peter Strange?"

She nodded. "I am." She glanced around. "Weren't you bringing a friend?"

Red nodded at the line. "He's in line for chai, should be back in a minute."

Violet glanced at the line. "I see."

Red indicated the chairs. "Would you like to sit down, or do you want to get in line?"

Violet nodded at the table. "We'll sit. We have other appointments to attend to."

Red nodded. "Understandable, ma'am." He pulled out a chair for her, and she sat. Sunny came back at that moment and helped Red pull chairs for the twins. When the two men were seated, introductions were made. The twins were Connie and Kit Blair, childhood friends of Violet. Connie was wearing blue while Kit was wearing pink. Red was glad, he wouldn't have been able to tell them apart otherwise.

"So," began Violet, "would you care to explain to me why Mr. Hughes contacted me for a meeting but is having his pilot and his chauffeur meeting us?"

Red leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Because he believes he is in grave danger and didn't want to risk coming here himself. Having the two of us come here to meet you was a risk in and of itself. We can trust the rest of the staff to keep an eye on him, but the two of us would have had more time to do so as we don't have to cook, clean, or tend to the gardens."

Violet nodded. "That's understandable. Have you figured out who exactly he's in danger from?"

Red sighed. "Yes, and here's the worst part, they're constant guests at Mr. Hughes's house."

Kit's mouth dropped slightly. "He hasn't stopped inviting them over?"

"There are seven people we suspect," explained Sunny, "Mr. Hughes thought it best not to make any drastic changes until we know for certain who it is."

"Besides," said Red, "all of them are known to have gotten their wealth through . . . um, shall we say, questionable means, if you take my meaning."

"Of course," said Violet.

"But why does Mr. Hughes surround himself with such questionable characters?" asked Kit.

Sunny chuckled nervously as he shot a sidelong glance at Red. "He asked the same question. But it to put it bluntly . . ."

"The same reason why he hired you and contacted me, " said Violet a little sharply. "He has to surround himself with colors. It's his eccentric calling card, if you will."

Connie nodded. "That's right! I work at Reid & Renshaw's, he wouldn't let them change the name!"

Red glanced at her in surprise. "You work at his advertising agency?"

Connie shrugged. "Well, now I do. I worked for my aunt at Campion's for a little while."

Red nodded. "I see. So you understand a little of what we have to deal with."

Connie grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, a little."

"Good, maybe you can explain it to your sister and Miss Violet better than I could."

She smiled. "Oh I'm sure you would have done fine. Besides, I only know a little about Mr. Hughes, you work directly for him."

Sunny grinned. "She does have a point."

Red waved his hand. "Whatever, we're getting off track here." He turned to Violet. "He did mention what he would like you to do?"

Violet sighed. "He wants me to be one of his guests for the next few months." She glanced between Kit and Connie. "But I would like to have them along, Connie especially, she's great at finding clues. But I don't know about their jobs . . ."

"Well, Mr. Hughes can handle Connie's job . . ." he glanced at Kit, ". . . what about your job?"

Kit huffed. "I work with my dad in his hardware shop."

Sunny leaned forward, excited. Red smirked, this was his area of expertise. "Really? Where is it? I would like to check it out!" He paused. "And maybe I can help you to convince your dad to help us."

Kit smiled. "Thank you, but I know how to convince him. I'll just need a bit of time, that's all. And maybe find a compromise, after all, he truly does need my help in the store."

"See, I can help with that. I have several brothers and sisters, I'm sure one or more wouldn't mind helping out during the summer."

Kit gasped. "Really? Why that might be just the thing!" She pulled out a notebook and a pen. She wrote down an address and a phone number before ripping out the piece of paper and handing it to Sunny. "Here's the info, have your siblings call the store before they come over."

Sunny grinned and saluted her. "Yes ma'am." Kit grinned back at him.

Violet nodded with approval. "Things are shaping up quite nicely."

"But I have a question," said Connie.

"Yes?" said Red.

Connie glanced around the cafe. "If Mr. Hughes didn't want you to risk public curiosity, why have us meet here?"

Violet smiled warmly at her friend. "I was just coming to that."

The door chime jingled. Red nodded at the door. "That's why." Then he realized why he thought those three women standing near the front looked familiar, they were reporters! And one was a particular favorite of Mr. Hughes, Beverly Grey! He had read her stories more than seen her on TV, but that wasn't who Mr. Hughes had wanted Miss Violet to see, the woman he wanted them to see was trying to get past the reporters without answering many questions. She looked like a movie star, as she should. She was Miss Kasandra Scarlet, renowned rising star and quite the gold-digger, especially when it came to Mr. Hughes's wealth. Her dark brown hair was styled in fancy waves and her calculating brown eyes scanned the room for some way to make the story even juicier. Her eyes came to a stop at their table and her eyes widened with familiarity. Red braced himself and repeated the story they were going to give her in his mind. She walked briskly towards them as a smile spread across her face.

"Why, Miss Violet Strange! How . . . strange seeing you here!" She giggled at her little joke as she glanced around the table. "As well as Red and Sunny! Why, do you know each other?"

Violet spoke up before Red could have a chance. "Why of course not! I merely recognized these two from the news and since there was room at our table, offered them seats."

"But you're not drinking anything!"

Violet gave a flighty shake of her head. "Of course not! Can't finish something I already finished, right? Trying to drink from an empty cup would make me look rather ridiculous, don't you think?" Red took to drinking from his cappuccino so as not to let Miss Scarlet see him smirk.

"Why, why of course! How silly of me. So, you were just leaving?" Her eyes scanned the table, apparently looking for anything to indicate exactly why they were at the same table.

Violet nodded. "Yes, we were, but not without sending Mr. Hughes a message."

Miss Scarlet's eyes seemed to widen slightly, clearly interested. "Oh? Well don't let me stop you."

"Oh, I won't." Violet turned on the woman and faced Red. "Red, let Mr. Hughes know that I accept his invitation for the summer, and would like to bring my two friends along."

Red nodded, feeling immensely relieved. "I will be sure to do that, Miss Strange." Violet smiled and nodded before rising from the table.

Miss Scarlet was stunned. "You'll, you'll be joining us for the summer?"

"Why yes. A fine change of pace, wouldn't you agree?" She flipped her hair, as if she was giving a defiant answer to an unseen challenge. Connie and Kit joined her, and the three walked out the door, followed by one of the reporters.

Miss Scarlet turned to Red and Sunny, an accusation in her eyes. "So, care to explain why Mr. Hughes decided to invite Violet Strange to this year's festivities?"

Red merely shrugged. "You tell me, this was the first I heard of it." She turned her accusing eyes on Sunny.

Sunny threw up his hands. "Don't look at me! I know as much as Red does!"

She glanced between the two again before letting out a sigh. "Oh, very well. Mr. Hughes is rather eccentric and not even his own staff knows him that well." She scoffed. "I doubt his fiance does either!" She looked at them as a smile brightened her face. "Oh well, it must be the more the merrier and one must deal with whatever one's host desires. And now I must bid you adieu, my coffee awaits!" She blew a kiss before walking away. Red and Sunny glanced at each other before quickly getting up and walking out. They didn't feel safe until they were in the car, when they let out sighs of relief.

"That went better than I thought," said Sunny.

"But that was too close," said Red. "If she had found out . . ." Red shuddered despite the warming weather. There was a soulless monster hiding behind that pretty face, and Red didn't want to ever face her without sufficient backup. The two jumped when a young man knocked on Red's door. Red rolled down his window, recognizing him as one of the young men who had been talking with Beverly Grey and the other reporters.

"Um, hi, I'm Sandy Steele . . ."

Red and Sunny shared a look before Red turned back to him. "Uh, hi, nice to meet you. I'm Red and this is Sunny."

The young man nodded. "I know, we kinda overheard your conversation with Miss Scarlet."

Red chuckled nervously. "Oh, right. OK, and?"

Sandy ran his fingers through his hair. "And, um, Beverly . . . uh, Beverly Grey, was wondering if she could find out more about the summer's activities?"

An idea hit Red. He knew Beverly Gray would strive to find out the truth. Could she become a valuable ally? "We don't even know yet ourselves," began Red slowly, "but, we can speak with Mr. Hughes about it. If he decides, he might even invite her along."

"Red!" hissed Sunny. Red glanced at Sunny, who was pointing at the clock. He wasn't berating him for wanting to invite Beverly, he was letting him know that they had to hit the road.

Red turned back to Sandy. "Listen, Mr. Hughes will contact Miss Grey with further information, we've got to go."

Sandy smiled. "Alright, well, thanks for your time."

"No problem." Red rolled up the window and nodded at Sunny. Sunny put the car in gear and took off. Red let out a breath as they sped back towards Mr. Hughes's mansion. He just hoped their boss wasn't betting his life this summer to find out who wanted him dead.

(Red Randall is the grandson of Red Randall, the lead in the series of the same name from the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Connie and Kit are from the Connie Blair series, Violet Strange is from the Violet Strange Mysteries by Anna Katherine Green, Sandy Steele is from the Sandy Steele series, Beverly Gray is from the Beverly Gray series, Miss Scarlet is from the Clue game, and Mr. Hughes and Sunny are original characters. And for this week's episode of the CW's Nancy Drew . . . I think I'm about done with this series. The ghost stuff is getting way too much, like way way too much. And it's gotten so dumb. We're not seeing Lucy anymore, so, why do we need to keep going back to the obviously really bad "spirit world"? It's pointless. The spirits literally serve no purpose at this point, and the majority of the time aren't even acting like real spirits. This episode was screaming filler, and a bad filler at that. Writing wasn't the greatest, didn't like what they did with Carson at the end, I am glad that I wasn't the only one who noticed the little hints at a George/Nick romance because apparently bringing in Dave, Burt, or even Buck was too much to ask . . . simply put, this episode really let me think that they are not actually doing this with the respect and care they claimed to, this is simply Archie's Bizarre Mysteries, like really really bizarre, with Nancy's name attached . . . and it is not working out well. I'm going to be purchasing both movies on Amazon and watching both over Christmas break because I need something better. Yes, neither movie was really that good, but I could sense the respect that they had for the character and the fans. That being said, I might get so mad that I'll be working on my Nancy Drew fanfic for the next week or so, already started on the Hardy boys. I just need some real respect for Nancy juice right now. Oh, and some respect Carson juice too. hbndgirl, I'm going to be reading your story right after that. That being said, I might have cooled down enough by the time the next episode airs to give it one last shot. They planned it well, didn't they? Get us so riled up to risk losing more than half their audience and give us a long enough of a break to cool down to start all over again . . . yeah, I think I can stomach one more episode. After that, I'm done. I will admit I am curious to how certain storylines will get wrapped up, but I think I'm getting to the point where I don't care anymore and can wait until the last episode for the reveals . . . will more than likely read about it than watch it. Anyways, it's time for some therapeutic writing to get this out of my system. Hope you enjoy this little teaser for another series I'm starting on, at least, a lot better than this week's episode.)


	5. A Welcomed Return

"Nigel! NIGEL!" Bruce Wallace practically flew down the stairs in his excitement. His older brother, Nigel, was playing a game on the family TV in the basement. Bruce yelled his name again. This time Nigel paused the game, pulled an earphone off one ear, and glanced curiously at his brother.

"What's all the ruckus about?"

"Look at your phone!"

"Can't it wait? I'm almost finished with this level."

Bruce quickly picked up Nigel's phone, snatched the controller out of Nigel's hands, and thrust the phone into them. "Trust me on this. Read it!" He flashed his pearly whites and his blue eyes twinkled merrily as he bounced slightly. "Just read it!"

Nigel groaned. "Fine." He unlocked his phone and read the message, his eyes widening. Both boys had the same blue eyes, a trait they inherited from their mother for sure, something that would cause suspicion in many a superstitious small village as it was "unnatural" that an African would have blue eyes. When Mr. Wallace decided to move the family closer to the capital of Zimbabwe, things seem to get better as more people were accepting of the oddness of blue eyes with dark skin. The boys were also finally able to make friends. It was one of those friends, one of whom the Wallaces considered the closest, had texted them. "They're back," whispered Nigel almost unbelievingly. He glanced up at Bruce. "They're back!"

Bruce nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

Nigel nearly threw off the earphones. "Well why didn't you just say so instead of getting me to read the message? Come on, let's go!" Both boys dashed up the stairs and quickly put on their shoes.

"What in the world is going on?' asked Mrs. Wallace, coming in from the kitchen. She was wiping her hands on her apron and glancing at the boys suspiciously.

"Don and Brick are back!" shouted Bruce before the two took off running.

"Be back in time for dinner!" their mother shouted after them. The boys waved at her to indicate they heard her before putting on speed. They ran for a few minutes before a house came into view. Nigel whooped as they neared the building. The two were slowing down as they neared the porch, but didn't bother stopping when they saw that the door was opening. A girl around Bruce's age was grinning at them in the doorway.

"Thanks Ruth!" said Bruce as the two barrelled past.

"Dining room, and you're welcome!" she said with a cheery laugh.

The boys turned and dashed towards the dining room, passing up Ruth's mother on the way. She was on the phone, but when she noticed them, she burst out laughing.

"Looks like Don and Brick already let your boys know. Go figure, they let their friends know before they let their family know! Tsk, tsk." The boys didn't hear the rest of the conversation as they were entering the dining room. As soon as they entered, Bruce was practically tackled to the ground by a redhead with a football-player's build. Meanwhile, Don Sturdy rose from the table and gave Nigel a hearty handshake and a hug. Three other men were sitting at the table, Don's father Richard, his brother Frank, and his brother-in-law Amos Bruce.

"Teddy Allison! Bruce Wallace!" said Don's father firmly. "Not in my house, please! Either quit it now or take it outside."

Teddy and Bruce smiled sheepishly at Richard Sturdy. "Sorry." They broke it up, but not before Teddy gave Bruce a quick noogie.

"So, how was Brazil?" asked Nigel.

"I heard it's lovely this time of year, and as packed as an American store on Black Friday," quipped Bruce.

Frank Sturdy laughed heartily. "And most days nowhere near as dangerous."

Don scoffed. "No kidding. I do not miss that about America."

Nigel grinned. "So you've said multiple times. Now, about Brazil . . ."

"Yeah, come on! Don't leave us hanging! Did you find any treasure?"

Don gave a slight shrug. "Eh, not this time. This was more of a pleasure trip. Well, besides Uncle Amos's lectures at Unicamp."

Amos eyed Don. "And what exactly did you mean by that, young man?"

"But Egypt is on the list," continued Don, ignoring his uncle's glare. "Maybe we'll find some ancient tomb and a lost treasure." His eyes sparkled.

Bruce leaned in, excited. "I wish you would! It would be such a blast to have found something that no one else could find! You'd be famous!"

Don grinned. "That it would." He cleared his throat. "I kinda would like to have you guys along for that ride, though."

Teddy scoffed. "Kinda?" He turned to Nigel and Bruce. "We really, really want you guys to come too." Nigel and Bruce shot each other a surprised glance before sneaking a glance at Amos out of the corner of their eyes.

"Really really?" said Bruce.

"How come?"

"Well, um . . ." Don shot a glance at Amos.

Amos sighed. "What he means to say is, we need you to come along, because, well . . ."

Frank Sturdy began chuckling. "So, what Amos won't say is that maybe having you along might prove you to be smarter than him and find the treasure before him." His green eyes sparkled merrily. "But we could certainly use the extra eyes and brains, if you will. Even if it means that Amos gets a little bit of humble pie."

Amos huffed and crossed his arms while the others laughed. Nigel and Bruce nodded in complete understanding, Amos Bruce did not like it very much when others, especially someone younger than him, proved to be smarter. Amos was quite proud of his brains. And the Wallaces had proved on a couple of occasions that they were almost as smart as he was, even if Don and Teddy both claimed they were actually smarter.

Bruce glanced at Nigel. "Well, we will have to ask our parents's permission."

Nigel nodded. "Definitely."

Don shrugged. "Well, they should be on their way here, if Mom convinced them to come to our last-minute party."

"If not, there's always tomorrow," said Teddy.

Frank leaned back in his chair and stuck a pipe in his mouth. "It would be loads of fun to have you along."

Bruce grinned. "It would be fun to go!"

"I do hope Mom and Dad will let us go," said Nigel wistfully. He glanced at Don and Teddy. "In the meantime, tell us about Brazil!"

The two adventurers laughed and launched into their tales of boring college lectures and harrowing escapades in the southern tip of the Amazon rainforest. All it did was solidify Nigel's and Bruce's desires to join their friends on their next adventure.

(Nigel and Bruce Wallace are from the Wallace Boys series, Teddy Allison, Don Sturdy, and Family are from the Don Sturdy series. So, I went ahead and bought and watched Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, the movie that came out earlier this year. Holy freaking smokes, after watching the downward spiral that is the CW series, rewatching this felt like visiting a good old friend. I'm thinking rewatching the Emma Roberts Nancy Drew will be the same. I've also been rewatching episodes from the 70's series. Man, in comparison to the CW series, all of them have a much better quality. But, I would like to focus on the recent movie that came out. It definitely has a few problems, one of those being the pacing, but they are so easily overlooked in comparison to the series. The beginning sequence just didn't quite fit right with it, but once we got into the mystery, things really started to pick up. I especially like the relationship between Nancy and Carson. Sure, they have their misunderstandings and their arguments, but they manage to work things out. Which leads me to this week's rant abut the CW show, what they did to Carson Drew. If you're going to make Carson Drew a suspect in a murder and have a rich, get-away-with-murder family walking all over him, you've completely missed the point of Carson Drew. Carson is supposed to be a good lawyer, his and Fenton Hardy's names are feared in criminal rings because they always get to the truth and their man, and their kids are following in their footsteps. Yes, the sleazebag lawyer is a trope for a reason, an all too common reason, unfortunately, but if you want a sleazebag lawyer, create a different character and stop pushing Carson closer to that line. That's just not Carson Drew. Carson is supposed to be like how he was written and portrayed in both movies, the books, and the 70's series, a man who fights for truth and justice, a man Nancy adores and admires, someone she trusts, someone she goes to with her problems, and someone she knows she can help with his. In every other version, Nancy and Carson got extremely close after Catherine's death, looking out for each other, saving each other from time to time. Not in the CW series, heaven forbid we have a good family relationship portrayed. And that rant isn't quite as long as it played out in my head, but I have had a full week to stew and rage over what they did to Carson. Oh, and I did watch the movie too, which helped a lot. That being said, the 2019 movie is mostly good, the actors definitely did a great job, and the story, though a bit off at a couple of times, was pretty well written. It's a mystery with female friendship at the forefront, and a loving father-daughter relationship, a breath of fresh air in this world of shipping everyone with everyone else and the word love can only mean romance. Oh, and I just realized, the movie doesn't go out of its way with trying to throw Easter eggs in your face or have references to the book. The CW does it like it's trying to say "hey, remember this mystery you really like? Well here's a reference to it! Do you see it? Look! Something from the books!" whereas the movie really did seem like it was trying to modernize Nancy while keeping her spirit. And for the people who complain about the movie being too childish, have you read the books? They're not exactly what one would call "adult" either. It's something I want to share with my friends, my sisters, and eventually my future daughters. Can't exactly do that with the CW show, even though I actually think the movie got a little creepier than all the ghost stuff combined in the series. And I've seen creepier stuff when I was a kid, those guys just really aren't trying hard enough. This series is seriously an in-name-only adaptation with very shallow Easter eggs thrown in to appease fans of the books. Anyway, if you don't like or don't want to see the CW series because of where it's going but want some Nancy, go watch the 70's series and the movies, they are so much better. Oh, heck, you could probably watch the Canadian TV series too! And check out their version of the Hardy boys as well. I think I like Frank without a beard and mustache, thank you very much. XD)


	6. Two Assignments

Sally Baxter sat behind her desk, looking somewhat nervously at the clock. She was scheduled to meet with the editor-in-chief, her grandmother, also named Sally Baxter, in a few minutes, and she found herself feeling rather nervous. She didn't quite know why, she could always talk easily with her grandma, but when at work, she found it a little more nerve-wracking since she was her boss, and Sally by no means got any special treatment. But she was excited about this recent story she was able to cover and couldn't wait to share it with her grandma. Besides, she did promise her good friend Kate Hunter that she would be at her horse practice later that afternoon. She jumped when the phone rang on her desk. She picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Miss Baxter will be out of her meeting in a minute. She would like to see you as soon as it's over, if you're ready," said Shirley Luckworth, the secretary, in a cheery, business-like tone.

"I'll be there!" Sally hung up the phone and quickly gathered up her notes. She glanced at her desk to make sure she had grabbed everything, took a deep breath, and walked towards the editor's office. As she walked towards the office, an idea for the reason behind her nervousness began to form in her mind. She didn't exactly get her story in the usual way, per se. She ended up helping the people she was interviewing solve a most intriguing mystery. A smile began to form on her face as she thought of the events that led to them solving it. It was fun in a way, and she got quite the scoop, plus it was great seeing first-hand all the exclusive details play out.

"Don't worry about a thing," came Shirley Luckworth's voice. Sally jumped and glanced at her, blinking rapidly. Shirley shot her a warm, welcoming smile. "You seem very nervous today, Sally. Why should you be? You got quite the scoop."

"Well, it's just that . . ." The door to her grandmother's office opened and several of the editors came out. The last was her grandmother.

"Oh good, you're here. Come on in, Sally, we have to make this quick, there's a last-minute appointment I have to keep."

"Yes ma'am," said Sally. She shot Shirley a nervous grin before following her grandmother into the office. She sat down in one of the plush chairs facing the desk. "Grandmother, I . . ."

"Before we begin," said Sally' grandmother as she sat down behind the desk, "I have one question for you. Did you enjoy solving this mystery?" Sally blinked. "Answer me truthfully, did you enjoy it?"

"Y-yes," said Sally haltingly. "Is that bad?"

Her grandmother chuckled. "What? Bad? My goodness, no! I was no different than you when I was your age! Even made an American friend who liked solving mysteries too! No no, you're following in my footsteps just fine. Now, we don't have time to go over your notes. Sit down and write whatever you have and send it to me by tonight. Your story has to be in tomorrow's paper, we need one more story, and yours was chosen." Sally's eyes widened as she gasped. Her grandmother's grin just widened. "But wait, there's more. You've been going to Kate Hunter's practices, correct?"

Sally bobbed her head. "Yes ma'am!"

"Good, I want you to cover the horse show this year. Everyone thought you would be biased since Kate is your friend, but in light of your recent story, I don't think that will be the case. You'll take it?"

"Oh yes, please!"

"Good, and one more thing, I want you to cover the Spider Sapphire when it's on display."

Sally's mouth dropped. "Y-you want m-me to cover the S-Spider Sapphire?"

Her grandmother nodded. "Absolutely."

"Wow, that's, that's . . ."

Her grandmother wagged her finger. "The biggest story you've ever covered in your career. I expect you not to mess it up."

Sally saluted her. "Yes ma'am!"

"Good, now you have your next two assignments, but I expect that story of yours on my desk by tonight."

Sally grinned as she rose. "I'll do you one better. I'll have it on your desk in a couple of hours!"

Her grandmother chuckled. "Alright then, get to it. I should be back from my appointment by then."

"Yes ma'am!" With that, Sally was out the door. She waved to Shirley on her way out before sliding into her desk chair and pulling out all her notes. She quickly read over a few notes before turning to typing everything up. She would pause every now and then to glance over the notes, but for the most part kept her fingers going. It actually took her a little longer than two hours to type everything up, and a few more minutes passed while she went over her piece and edited a few things before sending the story to the editor email and to the printer. Her grandmother was a little old-fashioned that way, she liked to have the physical paper to read from before sending out the stories from her email to the editors. Sally let out a little screech when she glanced at the clock. She was going to be late to Kate's practice! She quickly gathered her things together while she waited for the paper to print. When the pages were finished printing, she grabbed them and rushed to her grandmother's office. She wasn't back yet from her appointment, but Shirley promised to give her the papers as soon as she came in. Shouting a quick thank you, Sally booked it out of the newspaper office and to her car. She took off as quickly as she could and sped down the highway through the English countryside.

About thirty minutes later, she was pulling up to a quaint, two-story farmhouse. She quickly got out of the car and began walking briskly towards a fenced off area.

"Sally!" Sally grinned and waved. Two of her dearest friends, blond Tina Donnell and red-headed Shirley Clifford, were waving at her from the side of the fence. "Hurry it up! Kate's about to start!" shouted Shirley. Sally put on speed and reached the fence when the fourth member of the friend group exited the stables on the back of her prize horse, Shooting Star. She smiled and waved at her friends before guiding the horse into a prance around the perimeter. But Sally could tell Shooting Star was itching to try out the obstacle course, and Kate willingly obliged. Soon the two were racing through the course.

"So, how did your meeting go?" asked Tina. She and Shirley glanced expectantly at Sally.

Sally grinned. "It was great! I've been given two big assignments!"

"Really?" said Shirley. "What are they?"

Sally's grin got bigger. "I'm covering the horse show . . . and the Spider Sapphire!"

Her friends' mouths dropped. "Say, say what?" said Tina.

"But that exhibit isn't going to be here for another month!" said Shirley.

"I know! But Grandma wanted someone to be available for it when it does get here, especially since she has to let the museum know who's coming."

"True that," said Tina.

"But that's a pretty big story, isn't it?" asked Shirley hopefully.

Sally nodded. "Pretty big, the Spider Sapphire hasn't been shown to the public like this before! Several celebrities will be there too!"

Shirley sighed longingly. "Oh I do wish you could get us in as well!"

Sally tilted her head. "Well, I might be able to try, but I can't guarantee anything."

Shirley clapped her hands as she let out a little squeal. "Oh thank you! At least you tried, that's more than I could ask for. You're not exactly a big name reporter, not quite yet."

Sally beamed. "No, not yet." She turned her head and the three watched Kate and Shooting Star trotting up to them.

"Hey Sally! Glad you could make it!"

"Same! Shooting Star is looking pretty good!"

Kate beamed. "Thanks! But I don't think that's as interesting as your news, huh?"

"Oh, we're sorry! We promised to watch and . . ."

Kate raised her hand and shook her head, chuckling. "You're fine! Watching the same routine can become tiresome." Her eyes sparkled as she waggled her eyebrows. "Besides, I like having a few secrets and surprising you."

Tina chuckled. "Then you better surprise us well, we know your routine almost as well as you and Shooting Star!"

Kate winked. "You can bet on it." She turned to Sally. "So what is your news?" Sally quickly told her about her getting to cover the horse show and the Spider Sapphire and that she would try to get them in. Kate's mouth dropped. "Wow Sally, that is amazing!"

"Right?" said Shirley with a tiny squeal.

"So, your grandma didn't say anything about how you got your recent story?"

Sally shook her head. "Only that I was following in her footsteps, even to the point of having an American friend who's just as passionate about getting to the truth."

"That's great!" chorused her friends.

"Speaking of your American friend, have you talked to her recently?"

Sally chuckled. "Yes, but we couldn't talk for long, she's already in the middle of solving another mystery."

Kate laughed. "Before we know it, Nancy Drew is going to be one of the big names we're going to hear a lot about from America."

Sally grinned. "Oh I wouldn't be surprised. And I do hope to interview her again one day."

(Sally Baxter and her friends are granddaughters of the English group of young female detectives, Sally Baxter, Shirley Flight, Sara Gay, and Kit Hunter. This would actually take place closer to August/September, not quite sure yet on the timing, it's going to be a while before Nancy does get to meet Sally in England. XD But with that being said, merry Christmas! I hope you and yours had a wonderful and bright day! And let the countdown begin to when Nancy and the Hardys return in three weeks! I do hope to have two more stories running simultaneously, but that might be a while, one of them at least needs a little more work done for the mystery itself. I have all the characters and I know how the mystery's going to start, just not quite sure how it's going to end. The only problem I have with the other series is figuring out how I want the covers to look, lol. The characters and storyline are coming together beautifully, I'm just concerned I might get too ahead of myself. XD I mean, when you get the idea for a crossover with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island, you're going to want to write that all down ASAP, lol. But I do have to figure out how the second book's going to go before I even think of moving on to the third and sixth books, not to mention finish writing the first book! Rofl XD Also, I'm thinking that this next episode in the CW Nancy Drew series might be my last one. I will say this, I hold nothing against the actors, they're doing a splendid job with what they've been given, and apparently a few of the show writers can write extremely well, it's just the showrunners seem to have no respect for the source material much less the fans. And after telling us they do care a lot. However, I'm seeing otherwise. Though, I'm not quite sure how much of this was the show runners working within the CW's parameters and how much of it was the show runners themselves, but, this just isn't working in Nancy's favor. That, and coupled with a mediocre game, even though I think I'm going to get it because of the Hardys, lol, and it seems a few people are trying to take down the legacy that is Nancy Drew. But they're going to find that hard. The movies that worked really well had Nancy solving cases without the supernatural or romantic drama, same goes for the 70's series, even though there was a bit. They worked because they were all about the mystery, the thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of putting the bad guys in jail. Nancy and the Hardys knew who they were, knew what they wanted to be, and held firm to their beliefs. I looked up to them, not because they looked like me, but because they were the type of person that I wanted to be.)


	7. Fashion Show

Alice Roy rushed around the studio, helping get the dresses ready for the models and all the accessories they would need to go with each dress. Her two closest friends, Marion Webb and Bella Roberts, were helping her gather everything and making sure the fashion show ran smoothly. Bella's mother, Millie Roberts, was a flurry of activity as she directed people to and fro, even pausing from time to time to help with a dress or an accessory. Alice enjoyed watching her work. It was obvious fashion was Millie's passion. Bella shared some of that enthusiasm as she rushed to and fro, getting items with a knowing stride. Alice and Marion had to take a break near the end of the show. However, while Marion went off towards the break room, Alice took Bella aside.

"Will you be alright?"

Bella nodded with an excited grin. "Oh, just peachy! You go ahead and take your break, the show's almost over anyway. You're going to help clean up afterwards."

Alice chuckled. "Oh alright. But if you do need any help in the meantime, just holler."

"Oh don't worry, Mom is more than likely to let you know." The two laughed before separating. Millie Roberts was known to have a voice that carried, and a presence that demanded respect and immediate action. Alice joined Marion in the break room, she was already helping herself to coffee and a croissant.

"Man, fashion is such hard work!"

"And tennis isn't?"

Marion scoffed. "At least I don't have to worry about which necklace has to go to which dress or to make sure the color scheme is right. Tennis is hard physically, fashion is hard . . ."

"Mentally?" asked Alice with a twinkle in her blue eyes.

Marion rolled her eyes. "I was going to say more like visually, but that works, I guess." Alice chuckled as Marion took a bite. There was a moment's silence as Alice got herself coffee and a croissant. "So," continued Marion, "what do you think now that you've officially gotten your first taste of the fashion world?"

Alice let out a little huff. "That I'm glad I'm not a model. I'm better off behind the scenes."

"With that in mind, do you think you have a chance of working for Mrs. Roberts?"

Alice shrugged. "It's a possibility, but I'm not holding my breath. Besides, Mrs. Roberts would want me to work for her for a full year, and I can't do that. I'm going to America for the spring semester, after all."

Marion set her coffee down on the table. "Oh yes, speaking of, have you found out who's your host family?"

Alice shook her head. "Not a clue, and I don't think they're going to let me know until November at the earliest."

"But you at least know where you're going now?"

Alice nodded vigorously. "Yes! A little town in Illinois called River Heights. Well, I wouldn't exactly say it's tiny, it's much larger than that, but it's not as large as Chicago or Paris. I'll be glad for something different."

Marion nodded. "I hear you. I just hope you can take a real break from mysteries and take loads of photos."

Alice laughed. "I'll try, with being in a new place and going to school, I might not have the time, much less remember!"

Marion wagged her finger. "You'd better remember, at least to take those pictures. You're not going to America without letting Bella and me see some of the things you see."

Alice snickered. "I promise, I promise, don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

Marion scoffed. "It's not my pretty little head you have to worry about, though I will go to America take my own pictures if you don't."

Alice let out a laugh at that. "Alright, alright, I get it! I will do my very best to remember!" She then smiled wistfully. "Though I do wish you and Bella were coming with me. It would be so much more fun with the two of you there, and a little less lonely."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be making friends the first week you're there . . . unless your host family isn't the greatest, in which case we will get out there and beat them up for you."

Alice put her arm around Marion. "I would really appreciate that, but I'm sure the people working in the exchange student program will make sure I'm paired with a good family."

"Oh they'd better, I'll beat them up too."

"Marion, Alice!" Bella burst into the room, panting. "Come quick! I need your help! Mom's selling several of the dresses and needs our help!"

Alice placed the rest of her croissant and coffee on the table. "Coming!" Marion merely moaned before following her friends out. There was a whirlwind of activity as they helped Millie with selling dresses and cleaning up. But later that night, before Alice drifted off to sleep, she began to wonder about a few things. What would her host family be like? Would they know a little French? Would they want to learn? Would her English be good enough by the time she got there? And what about the rest of River Heights? Would her classmates be accepting of her? Alice finally quieted the myriad of questions and fell asleep instantly. She would have to wait until January to get the answers, so for now, all she had to do was prepare.

(Alice Roy and Marion Webb are the French names for Nancy Drew and George Fayne. Bess's name is still Bess in French, I changed it to Bella so it's a little less confusing. She's not the only one, Ned's name is still the same, however instead of Dave and Burt, we have Daniel and Bob. That being said, I don't think I will have the guys be a part of this series, I do want Alice to be somewhat different from Nancy, so I guess the guys have got to go. Don't worry, if you're wishing for some love interests, I have a few fellows in mind for these ladies . . . it's just that they live in Canada. ;P)


	8. Summer Vacation

Roger Baxter's dark head came up from the newspaper with a snap when he heard a pair of feet running towards the house. He heard the front door slam, and the next instant, his best friend Brad Forrest burst into the room with a huge grin on his face.

He raised his hands and let out a whoop. "My dad gave me a job at the newspaper office! I get to be a junior reporter!"

Bill, Roger's younger brother, jumped up and high-fived him. "Woohoo! That's fantastic, Brad!"

Roger smiled at them, happy for his friend. "That is fantastic, Brad!"

Brad noticed the subtle lack of enthusiasm, though he could tell that Roger was happy for him. "Wait, you haven't gotten a job?"

Roger winced before shaking his head and sighing. "No, I guess no one needs any help this year."

"You know Uncle Willie always has jobs for us," said Bill.

"But he doesn't exactly pay us in money, just merchandise, and I understand why. I mean, sure, it comes in handy for one of our projects, but I would like some cold, hard cash for once."

Brad bobbed his blond head. "I hear you man." He paused and thought for a minute. "Hmm, do you guys have any ideas for projects this year?"

Bill huffed and placed his hands on his hips as he glanced at Roger. "That's another reason why you shouldn't have a job this year. I can't do it all by myself!"

Roger glanced at him, annoyed. "Come on Bill, you're fifteen and you know as much about engineering as Dad and I do. You could handle it."

Bill rolled his eyes. "Sure I can."

"Handle what?" asked Brad, glancing between the brothers.

"We were thinking of building a windmill on the cottage. It would be feeding into our back-up generator and the generator for the cottage most of the time, but we're hoping to be able to help Mom and Dad with the electricity bill." Brad nodded. Though Mr. Baxter was a well-sought after designer, he wasn't the most wealthiest man and it had been several months since his last project. Mrs. Baxter ran the local bookstore, and that wasn't bringing in that much either. The boys were always trying to come up with ways to help their parents pay the bills, or avoid them altogether. Bill glanced at Roger. "But Rog here is insistent on finding a job, which would leave me to do the windmill all alone, and I don't want that."

Roger sighed as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Bill, I'm going to be seventeen in a few months and I would like to start saving up for college."

Bill scoffed. "Mom says you're a shoo-in for a scholarship since she's full Inuit."

"That doesn't guarantee I'll get it, especially if I want to go into Engineering rather than Environmentalism." Roger let out a huff. "I just want to be ready for all scenarios, all right?"

Bill groaned. "Fine, but you would have to get a job first."

Roger winced. "Yeah, that's the problem."

Brad began rubbing his chin and pacing around the room. The Baxters recognized their friend's method of deep thinking and stayed silent until he paused and faced them. "Well, there is that . . . and that."

"What and what?" asked Bill.

Brad raised his finger and wiggled it. "I could ask Dad to give you half of my hours . . ."

"What? No! That wouldn't be fair to you. Besides, I never applied for the job," said Roger with a shake of his head.

Brad put up a second finger. "Or I could hire you myself and pay you a little something."

"Huh?" asked Bill.

Roger tilted his head. "Hire me for what?" he asked slowly.

"To be my photographer."

Roger's mouth dropped. "What? Are you nuts? You know Bill's better at that than me. I'd just ruin them!"

Brad shrugged. "Well then, get practicing."

"Yeah, but . . ."

"Oh come on, Rog, you're the most detail-oriented guy in the town, you'd be perfect!"

"Yeah . . . then why didn't you start off with that proposition?"

Brad grinned. "See what I mean?"

Bill burst out laughing. "And you always know how to get him where you want him too!"

Brad's grin grew wider. "Hey, I haven't known you two for years for nothing."

"Ha ha, very funny, pinecone."

Brad laughed, that was the cue that Brad had won, even though Roger didn't like it at first. "Great, it's settled then! Let's head over to the office to make it official and to get you some proper equipment."

Roger rolled his eyes and sighed, but he was grinning from ear to ear. "You know I hate making things official."

"Hey, what else did you expect when you wanted to get a job?"

"Touche." Roger glanced at Bill. "Guess I'll be able to help build that windmill after all."

"Oh don't count on it, you never know if I'll need you for a full week or not."

Roger shrugged as he grabbed his bike helmet. "But there might be weeks where you'll only need me for a few days. I can help him then, besides, it's not like this is of the utmost importance. And we do have all summer to do it."

Brad grinned as he led the two out of the house. "Sounds good then. Hey Bill, think you would wanna help out as well?"

"Are you kidding?" said Bill as he strapped his helmet on. "This is going to be the best summer ever!"

(Roger and Bill are from the Roger Baxter series and Brad Forrest is from his own series. And though this takes place during the summer, I want to wish you all a happy new year! XD I have a couple of announcements. I have created another account, Jane Vyne, where some of these stories are going to be. I created the account for my Sims 4 stories, which I hope to have a few done this year, and since some kinda take place in the same universe, they'll be posted there as well. I'm just not sure if the Adventures and Bizarre Cases should be over there. Beginning of a New Team was an excerpt from the first book in the series, Valley of Diamonds, which will begin being posted late February/early March, along with Red Randall's Clue of the Broken Blade. Which brings me to the other main announcement, not all of the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew mysteries are going to be rewritten as Hardy boys and Nancy Drew, some will be given to other detectives, mainly because those two have so many I can give them to the series that don't have as many, lol. So if you see a title that you recognize, or a mystery, from either one, that's why. Plus, with the way things are going in my head, it made more sense that way too as well as allowing me to keep some classic mysteries. Anyway, hope you enjoyed both of these sweet little shorts. I did both because I have ten total I wanted to post before we got back with the Hardys, so a double was necessary, lol. XD Again, happy new year, and I can't wait to share more stories with you into the new year! Happy Reading!)


	9. College Party

Arden Blake and her two best friends, Simone "Sim" Westover and Theodosia "Terry" Landry, scurried across the field.

"Come on, hurry it up!" exclaimed Arden, her blue eyes laughing at Terry daintily making her way through some brush. She did not want her clothes or her hair ruined.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" said Terry with a huff. "I can't believe you two not only took the worst path, but that you can run through it without worrying about your looks!"

Sim rolled her eyes. "You've been our friend for what, twelve years, and you still haven't noticed that we don't care as much as you do?" Arden laughed as she glanced at her blonde friend. Of the three of them, Sim cared about it the least, she wasn't going for the boys, she was going for the pool. And with her sea green eyes and her tall, lean body, Arden thought she looked like she could be a goddess of the seas.

Terry huffed as she joined them, still picking leaves out of her auburn hair. "I know, I know, but if it weren't for me, you'd be running all over this campus in naught but your swimsuit."

Sim grinned. "Oh you'd better believe it."

"I don't believe it, I know it," said Terry with a huff. She ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her skirt. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Again?" said Sim with a smirk.

Arden laughed. "Oh come on, let's get going! It's going to be over by the time we get there!"

"And then we can't introduce ourselves to cute boys!"

Sim scoffed. "The pool will be closed!"

"Exactly!" said Arden. "So come on!" The three rushed toward their destination, Pixie's Pub and Pool. Sim saw the doors to the pool and began veering towards it. Arden grabbed her arm. "Let's go inside to make sure the pool is open first." She nodded towards the window. "There's people in the bar right now, they might have closed it to prevent people from going in."

Sim nodded. "Right." She followed her two friends into a crowded room. Two bartenders were working at the bar, serving up drinks to everyone. Arden noticed that it wasn't all alcoholic drinks. She saw a couple of waters, a few juices, some soda, and even a glass of milk or two. She let out a sigh, so they could get something here. It was open to people of all ages, and probably rightly so because of the pool. She smirked as she watched Sim march determinedly towards the bar and talk to the bartenders. She looked around for Terry, and rolled her eyes. Terry was already off in one corner talking to a few guys and girls. Arden decided to follow Sim to the bar and help her out, if necessary.

"What can I get for you ladies?" asked one of the bartenders.

"I want to go swimming," said Sim matter-of-factly.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm not going to open the pool for just one person. I don't need anyone who's buzzed drifting into there and drowning. If it was in the morning, sure, but I've got people who's already had more than I think they should have."

Sim blinked. "Oh, oh I see . . . that makes sense . . ."

Arden placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before turning to the bartender. "I can assume you run this place?" She glanced at his name tag. "Mr. Aramon?"

He nodded. "I do, and if you're going to try to change my mind . . ."

"Oh no," Arden hastened to say, "I'm not going to. But, the only reason why my friend came was because of the pool. Um, there's no other pool around? The campus pool is closed until it can be fixed."

He sighed and shook his head. "Afraid not, that's part of why this bar is so popular, I run the only other pool besides the ones at the campuses."

Sim glanced at him in surprise. "Wait, Sanford has a pool too?"

Aramon laughed. "Well of course they do! They're training astronauts, after all."

"Well, we didn't know that. We didn't really look at Sanford's programs, we were already set on going to Cedar Ridge," said Arden with a chuckle.

"Oh? And what are degrees are you aiming for?"

Arden pointed to herself. "I'm going into Psychology."

Sim smiled. "I'm going for Education, I like having my summers off."

Aramon chuckled. "So you can go swimming, huh?"

Sim grinned. "Yup."

"But why not go swimming professionally?"

Sim shook her head. "I did some competitive swimming in middle school, just wasn't my thing."

Aramon nodded. "Fair enough."

"There you two are!" said Terry with a huff. She glanced at Sim. "I thought you would have gone into the pool by now."

"It's closed," said Arden and Sim at the same time." Aramon gave his explanation why.

Terry blinked. "Oh, oh! Well that does make sense. You're a very responsible manager."

"Owner," said Aramon, "I own it."

"Oh, that's even better! Well, I hope you don't mind me taking my friends away."

Aramon shook his head with a smile. "Not at all. You three enjoy the party." He pointed at Sim. "And I have a feeling I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning. I open the pool at seven."

Sim grinned. "Thanks, you will." The girls said goodbye before following Terry to a group of people. She introduced everyone and in a few minutes, they were chatting away easily. Arden found herself drawn to a handsome young man named Tom Corbett. He seemed very smart and was certainly easy-going. She did like it when his brown eyes sparkled when he laughed. But the highlights of the night were meeting Tom's alien roommate, Astro Phillips, and noticing that he seemed to only have eyes for Terry. Terry did seem interested in him as well, if only because she had never had an alien beau before. Arden also noticed that Sim was at ease with this group. They spent the rest of the party with this group, even Terry didn't want to leave them to find other people to talk to. When the girls were back in their dorm later that night, Arden had a sneaking, and hopeful, suspicion that they would share their college experiences and many happy moments together. Maybe even an adventure or two. But Arden felt like they had found the group that really clicked with them, and with that brought a little sense of home.

(Tom and Astro are from the Tom Corbett series, Arden, Sim, and Terry are from the Arden Blake trilogy. Sim's original name in the books was Bernice. For one thing, it doesn't work in a more futuristic world, especially one that's being crossed over with Sims 4, and secondly, the reason behind her nickname being Sim doesn't work either. Apparently her father wanted a boy and her mom wanted a girl. When Sim was born, they blended the words she and him, hence Sim . . . having it as a nickname for Simone and a nod to the Sims made way more sense, rofl. That being said, this series is going to be posted only on my Jane Vyne account, the link to which is in my profile. The first book, Secret of the Sprite Society, will be coming later in the year, I'm thinking more summer as there are a lot of Sims 4 stories I want to write as well, plus a few original stories inspired by the Sims 4 that will be posted at . Looking forward to seeing you all there!)


	10. Italian Injuries

Nancy, Frank, and Joe had been riding along at a fair trot, leaving their guide, Francesca Ruffino, behind, when a gunshot rang out through the Italian countryside. The horses went mad with panic. Nancy was having a slightly hard time controlling her horse, but she was finally able to get her calmed down.

"Joe! Watch out!" Nancy's head snapped up at Frank's yell. Her eyes widened. Frank's and Joe's horses were running headlong into a collision! She could only watch in horror as the two horses collided. Frank's horse went under while Joe's was on top. Joe was able to roll into his fall and landed safely a few feet away. Frank went flying through the air and hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"Frank!" she screamed as she directed her horse towards Frank's location.

"Frank, get up!" shouted Joe as the horse reared yet again, its front hooves veering dangerously over Frank's body. But Frank didn't budge.

Nancy nearly choked as tears came to the brim of her eyes. "No!"

"Whoa!" As if by magic, a cowboy raced forward and grabbed the reins, pulling the horse away from Frank. Joe reached him first and turned him over. He had a large bruise beginning to form and a gash along the side of his face.

"Frank! Can you hear me? Frank!"

Nancy nearly toppled off her horse in her mad rush to get to Frank. "Is he alive?"

Joe nodded grimly. She could see the tears that he was fighting. "His pulse is weak though," he said, choking a little at the end.

"Nancy!" cried out two female voices. Nancy looked up in shock.

"Jean! Louise!" The Danas came galloping up, reining in their horses as they neared their position. Francesca rode up at that moment as well, eyes wide.

"Is he alright?" asked Jean and Francesca at the same time.

"I-I think we need to get him to a hospital," said Joe. Frank moaned as his eyelids flickered open. Nancy and Joe just about pounced on him.

"Frank! Are you alright?"

He propped himself up on one arm and touched his head gingerly. "M-my head . . ."

Joe was already on his feet and put his arms under Frank's shoulders. "Can you walk?"

Frank groaned softly. "I-I think so." He took Nancy's hand and, with her and Joe's help, rose. Jean and Louise were standing nearby, ready to help. Frank took a couple of steps forward, leaning on Nancy and Joe.

"D-do you think you can make it back to the villa?" asked Joe.

Frank nodded. "I-I think so." He smiled wanly. "I guess this puts a dent in my modeling career."

Joe scoffed. "You never had one. I'm the beauty of the family, remember?"

Louise groaned. "Really? Is that the best you can do?"

Joe shot her a flirty grin. "Hang around a little longer, and I'll try better."

Nancy laughed. Well, Joe was feeling a little better, and Frank had to have felt well enough to crack that kind of a joke. She just hoped they could get him to the villa and have him checked out for a possible concussion. But then she had a sudden thought. "Oh, but what about the horses?"

Jean quickly got back on her horse. "We'll take care of that, you get him straight to bed."

Louise got back in her saddle. "Looks like Bret already took care of the troublesome one." Nancy glanced around, she was right, the cowboy who saved Frank and Frank's horse were gone. She and Jean grabbed the reins of Nancy's and Joe's horses.

Nancy smiled with relief. "Thanks!"

"Oh, I want to go with you," said Francesca, "but I should let the groom know about all of this." She sighed. "Just another thing to add to Papa's worries." She clicked her tongue and led the Danas back to the stables. It was slow, awkward going, but they managed to get Frank back to the villa and got him into bed. Joe went for the doctor while Nancy found a first aid kit and some ice and tended to Frank's injuries.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked when she finished. She had him holding a bag of ice to his head.

Frank thought a moment before shaking his head slightly. "Not right now. I might be hungry once my heart slows down to its normal speed and my head stops throbbing."

"You know, I'd be more worried about your nerd career than your modeling career."

He cracked a grin. "But that would make Joe happy, he'd get to be the bigger nerd, and I'm not going to let that happen."

Nancy laughed. "That gives you motivation to get better, huh?"

"You bet." His grin began to falter. "Um, Nancy?"

She glanced at him, worry coming into her face. "Yes? Is something wrong?"

"I, uh, um . . ."

"He's in here, Doctor," came Joe's voice as the door walked Joe with a doctor, who immediately went to Frank and began tending to him.

Tell me how did this happen?" asked the doctor in a thick Italian accent. Nancy, Frank, and Joe took turns explaining the events. The doctor nodded, seemingly impressed. "You're very lucky, young man." He turned to Nancy. "You did a good job bandaging him up. It looks like he'll heal up just fine."

All three sighed with relief. "Oh good."

The doctor turned to Frank and wagged his finger. "But no more horse-riding for a while, and you need to be resting in your bed for a couple of days. You don't have a concussion, but if your head should get worse, contact me."

"I will, thanks Doctor."

The doctor bowed. "You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another patient I must see to. Good day."

"Good day!" chorused the three. The doctor left, just as Bret and the Danas came in. They asked what the doctor had to say, and Nancy and the Hardys filled them in.

"Well, that's good!" said Jean with a sigh of relief.

Bret walked over to the bed. "I talked with the groomsman. Why were you riding that horse to begin with?"

Frank, Joe, and Nancy glanced at each other before Frank spoke. "Well . . . Francesca suggested it . . ."

"You don't think . . ." began Nancy.

"Oh, I'm thinking it," said Joe. He turned to Frank. "I told you she's somehow connected. I just wish you hadn't gotten hurt to find that out."

Frank winced. "Yeah, I know. I guess I just found it so hard that she'd go through all this trouble to ruin her father's chances of success, even if it doesn't bring as much money as they're used to, at least it's something."

"Wait, what's this? Joe Hardy doesn't like a girl?" Bret crossed his arms. "OK, you've got to fill me in on this."

"Oh, I don't think we've met," began Nancy. Joe and Frank jumped in and quickly introduced her to Bret King, a neighbor of their father's cousin in New Mexico.

"And I guess I have you to thank as well, keeping that mustang from stomping me to death."

Bret dipped his head. "My pleasure."

"And these two are the Danas?" asked Joe. Nancy introduced the Hardys to the Danas. Even though they did know of each other, they hadn't seen pictures and didn't know which face matched which name. Joe shot Louise a flirty grin. "So, how about you and me sometime, huh?"

Louise placed her hands on her hips and scoffed. "Not in your life."

Bret laughed. "Just tell him you have a boyfriend already, he'll lay off the flirtations real quick."

"Oh, well, it's true, I do have a boyfriend."

"Oh, alright, fine."

"So, tell us about this mystery of yours?" said Bret excitedly.

"Well . . . more like mysteries," Frank began slowly. "Nancy's working on her own."

"I can help you," said Nancy. "You need to rest, like the doctor ordered."

"But I think it's better if you just concentrate on your own."

Nancy scoffed. "Don't make me go out and make these mysteries connected, Frank Hardy!"

Frank grinned. "Yes ma'am."

"But, wait, how long are you three going to be here for?" Joe asked Bret and the Danas. "And heck, why are you here?" Both groups finally exchanged their stories and talked long into the night. But when the others finally left the Hardys to head back to their hotels, they had a plan of action.

(Nancy, the Hardy boys, the Dana girls, and Bret King are from their respective series, the rest of the characters are from the Hardy boys book, The Lure of the Italian Treasure which will be a book later on in the series. I just had to get this out of my head. That being said, the Hardys will return next week in a brand new mystery! Well, is it really brand new if it's just a retelling of Secret of the Old Mill? Well, I guess so since some things are going to be a bit different. XD Anyways, a great big thanks to hbndgirl for reading and reviewing everything so far! Can't wait to see what you think about the next two mysteries! Nancy will be returning later this month, along with an introduction to two new series at the end of next month! I hope to get as much of this done as soon as possible as my original stories are starting to stir again and I need to give them some attention. Phew! I have so much to write! XD But I'm happy that these stories are coming together so beautifully! Also, be sure to follow me on Wattpad! Not only are a few of these posted there, the Nancy Drew, Hardy boys, and Stratemeyer Shorts definitely are, but there's a few originals to check out too! I keep the same pen names across the board, so Jane Vyne for Sims 4 and Aurora Mandeville for everything else. I do have another pseudo-name, A. M. Rose, but that's only on AO3 at the moment as I'm not quite sure what I want to use that for. ^^; The Stratemeyer Shorts will return when I have more ideas to use, and there's a break between the larger books. Thanks for reading!)


	11. Intro to Their World

It had been years since Venus and Mars had been colonised, years since the harsh environments of both worlds were tamed. To an extent. Mars was still partially uninhabited, due to the lack of gravity, but the colonizers found a way to thrive, in domed cities. Same with Venus, though their domed cities seemed to float, like Cloud City in Star Wars. But it worked and became home to many people.

That was the way of the world that Tom Corbett, Mike Samson, and Linda Carlton were born into. Tales of adventures in space, of exploration of other worlds, of close encounters with danger, it all thrilled them, inspired them, gave them a purpose. All three were quite young when they decided they wanted to be astronauts, and all three planned and worked hard to get there. And of all the colleges to attend, Sanford Institute was one of the best.

Robby Hoenig and his best friend Harry Smith were also planning on going to Sanford Institute, but for a different reason. Sanford was not only known for its astronaut program, but for all the sciences as well, and Robby and Harry were looking at exploring the sea. Robby's parents were both marine biologists, and Robby wanted to follow in their footsteps, while Harry not only wanted to explore, he also wanted to preserve the wonders of the sea.

Arden Blake, Sim Westover, Terry Landry, Peggy Lane, and several others, though, were looking at going to Cedar Ridge University, the neighboring college and the one that specialized in the arts, literature, and music. Psychology and sociology were also majors one could get at Cedar Ridge, and many did. But those who entered Cedar Ridge had dreams in mind and were determined to achieve them.

And though their paths would cross, they would find that they crossed in the most unusual way, and many secrets were revealed, many of which were wanting to stay hidden. But while many wanted to explore the vastness of space, these people soon found that there were mysteries to be still uncovered on Earth.

_(Author's Note: All characters belong to their respective owners. Robby Hoenig's first mystery will begin posting on June 14th, the first mysteries at Sanford and Cedar Ridge will, hopefully, begin posting sometime in September or October. Be on the lookout for these, and the continuation of the other four books! I also wanted to post something in honor of the successful launch of the Dragon rocket. Thanks for reading, and have a blessed day!)_


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